' () or ' () or fardh in

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

is a religious

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; , past participle of ; , whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, e ...

commanded by

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. The word is also used in Turkish, Persian,

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, Bangla (''spelled farz or faraz''), and Malay (''spelled fardu or fardhu'') in the same meaning.

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

who obey such commands or duties are said to receive ''hasanat'' (), ''ajr'' () or ''thawab'' () for each good deed. ''Fard'' or its synonym ''wājib'' () is one of the five types of

ahkam ''Ahkam'' (, plural of , ) is an Islamic term with several meanings. In the Quran, the word ''hukm'' is variously used to mean arbitration, judgement, authority, or God's will. In the early Islamic period, the Kharijites gave it political conn ...

() into which

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

categorizes acts of every Muslim. The

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

fiqh, however, does not consider both terms to be synonymous, and makes a distinction between ''wajib'' and ''fard'', the latter being obligatory and the former slightly lesser degree than being obligatory.

Individual duty and sufficiency

The

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

distinguishes two sorts of duties: * Individual duty or ''farḍ al-'ayn'' () is a personal requirement that each person is expected to fulfill on their own, such as daily prayer (''

salat ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal ibadah, worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as rak'a, ''rak'ah'', include ...

''), and the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if the person can afford the journey (''

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

''). An individual not performing this will be punished in the afterlife (but can be excused on basis of incapability), but if he enjoins and fulfils its necessity will be rewarded. * Sufficiency duty or ''farḍ al-kifāya'' () is a duty which is imposed on the whole community of believers (''

ummah ' (; ) is an Arabic word meaning Muslim identity, nation, religious community, or the concept of a Commonwealth of the Muslim Believers ( '). It is a synonym for ' (, lit. 'the Islamic nation'); it is commonly used to mean the collective com ...

''). The classic example for it is janaza (funeral prayer): the individual is not required to perform it as long as a sufficient number of community members fulfill it.

Examples of fard acts

Salah ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as ''rak'ah'', include a specific s ...

(daily prayer, including

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

) #

Zakat Zakat (or Zakāh زكاة) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Zakat is the Arabic word for "Giving to Charity" or "Giving to the Needy". Zakat is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam a relig ...

(giving alms) #

Sawm In Islam, fasting (known as , ; or , ; ) is the practice of abstaining, usually from food, drink, sexual activity and anything that substitutes food and drink. During the holy month of Ramadan, is observed between dawn and sunset when the of th ...

(fasting during

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

) #

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

(pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

) # Protecting one's children

References

{{Authority control Arabic words and phrases in Sharia Sharia legal terminology Religious philosophical concepts

Individual duty and sufficiency

Examples of fard acts

See also

Ahkam

Other religions

References